Gold Coast Blaze vs Townsville Crocodiles
November 5, 2008 11:00 am General SportWhere and When: Wednesday 5 November, Gold Coast Convention Centre, 6.30pm (AEST)
Past Three Head-to-Head
Townsville Crocodiles 97-89 Gold Coast Blaze, Quarter-finals 2008.
Townsville Crocodiles 101-81 Gold Coast Blaze, Round 22 2008.
Gold Coast Blaze 105-87 Townsville Crocodiles, Round 18 2008.
Season Series
First match
Current Standings
Blaze 0-10 (10th), Crocs 4-4 (seventh)
The Crocs started the season brightly but are in somewhat of a mini-slump, having lost their past two.
They will be desperate for a win to get their season back on track and will get no better chance to return to the winner’s circle than tonight when they face a Gold Coast side that boasts a 0-10 win-loss record and is playing with just the one import.
The Blaze have signed NBA development league player Justin Bowen to replace import Juaquin Hawkins, whose time in Australia was cut short by thanks to a foot complaint.
Bowen is a chance to play tonight if his paperwork goes through but his impact will be limited given he is yet to learn the Blaze’s structure.
With this in mind, the onus will be on Shane Heal and James Harvey to do the bulk of the scoring to help Brendan Joyce’s men register their first win of the season.
Heal and Harvey combined for nine three-pointers against the Tigers last week and they will need to be on fire once again if the Gold Coast are going to keep their finals hopes alive in what Harvey has declared a ‘mini-final’.
The aforementioned duo are ranked in the top ten NBL scorers so far this season but the Blaze’s scoring power drops off after that while the Crocs boast the likes of dangerous import Corey Williams, Rosell Ellis, John Rillie and Kelvin Robertson who are all capable of posting big numbers.
The Blaze showed some promising signs in their 12-point loss to the Tigers in round seven but their lack of depth will count against them on Wednesday night.
With their season on the line, the Gold Coast will come out all guns blazing early in front of their home crowd but Towsnville’s spread of scorers should prove to be the difference.
This punter recommends putting money on a Townsville win by 1-10, offering $2.80.